Pardon my lack of entries lately...

The girls and I have been sick, starting last Wednesday with a call from school that someone needed to pick Kinsley up from school because she was ill. Since then we have battled fevers, runny noses, coughs, and me with strep throat. I was just thinking this morning how one take's for granted that feeling of being well. Today is the first day since Thursday that I have felt 100% or at least as close as I usually feel to it, and what a relief it is. I am thankful that overall, except a few minor virus and ailments here and there my girls and I are all healthy.

I am also thankful for Adam, Brandi and Kenneth. Without the three of them, the past week would have been much worse. I am very lucky that both Adam and Kenneth are there for their daughters when they are sick, and there to spend time with their daughters when I am sick. Kenneth dropped what he was doing many times and took off from work several days to pick the girls up from school and take care of Kinsley while I was at work or sick, and asked quite often what he could do to help me. Adam too spent extra time with Juliana when I couldn't take care of her, brought me movies and mashed potatoes and even cleaned while I slept. And Brandi checked in on me routinely, asked often what she could do to help me, and occasionally made me laugh. I am very lucky to have all three of them, and fortunate to have such a great support system in times like these.

Who's the Old Lady?

Kinsley has had an interest in crafts lately, probably because I have started doing more again. So, Monday night I took the girls to the store and we bought plastic grids, plastic needles and they got to pick out their own yarn. I'm sure there is a name for this particular "sewing" but I'm not sure what it is. Maybe one of my readers can tell me. My babysitter Judy taught me how to do this when I was about Kinsley's age, and I thought she would enjoy it.

Our first project has been bookmarks, Kinsley's is a cross and Karly wanted to make an H. I have been helping Karly with hers as the needle is difficult to pull through the grid. Kins, however, caught on very quickly and has been working on it quite a bit.

This morning when I got up, Kins was already awake and had been "sewing" for a while she said and wanted to take it to school with her to work on during recess and at BacPac. So... now who is the "old lady?"

My daughter called me an "old lady"

I decided recently that I wanted to learn to crochet. A few weeks ago I came across a craft book that I have had for many years and had forgotten about. In flipping through it, I found a lot of great things I would like to make, but over half of the book involved crocheting or knitting. So I decided I would learn to crochet and promptly bought supplies and set out on this endeavor. I will post soon about my (mis)adventures in crocheting. Now, I have joked to a few people as I am crocheting that I have turned into an old lady, but have not said that to my daughters.

Last night the girls and I called my mom to wish her a Happy Birthday. During the conversation Kinsley told her grandma that her mom was sewing like an old lady, except that old ladies use two needles instead of one. OH MY! It's official, my daughter thinks I'm old. I tried to overlook the statement, and correct her in saying, two needles is kitting, I'm crocheting, but what I really wanted to scream is "I'm not an OLD LADY!"

Shhh! Don't tell my girls!

I have had the girls quite a bit extra lately since Kenneth has been deer hunting. Not that I'm complaining, I love the extra time with them. But, that being said, I'm due for a little quiet grown up time. So... this afternoon, I am skipping out of work and Brandi and are going to one of our favorite stores...drum roll please... Michael's, and probably Hobby Lobby too. We are in search of craft projects that we can do with the girls to give as Christmas gifts, and have a few ideas of things we are going to make for the girls as well.

Happy Birthday to the Best Mom and Grandma Ever!

Happy Birthday to my Mom, the greatest woman I know! I have the most amazing mom in the world, and my girls are lucky to have the best Grandma ever!

A few things about my mom...

She is the most intelligent woman that I have ever met. Some people are book smart, some people have common sense, some people have emotional intelligence. My mom is all three. And I only hope I have half the brains she does.

She is very funny. We have the same dry sense of humor that most people wouldn't get, but we do, and even at some of the worst times, we can find something great to laugh about.

She is beautiful. I remember when I was younger, she used to die her hair bleach blond and paint her nails the same color as her cougar, and I thought she looked trashy. Sorry mom, gotta say it. And now I look at her, and she looks so much prettier and classier. She really is a beautiful woman!

She is a much nicer Grandma than she was a mom. My girls adore her. She lets them drink coffee, eat junk food in the living room all day and put on her lipstick. I never got to do those things, but I look at myself now, and I turned out pretty darn good, and I owe it all to my mom who raised me on her own. I hope I'm half the mother she is.

She is the strongest woman I have ever met. My mom has not had an easy life, there have been many challenges for her. But she met them all with strength and grace. If you see her now, you see the smart, very successful hard working woman that she is. I see all that she has ever been, ever gone through and that most people have never known, and I know that she is AMAZING!

Happy Birthday to My Mom! I LOVE YOU!

Thank God for My Best Friend

I'm really not sure where to begin this, other than I thank God daily for my best friend. I have known her for forever, but only recently did we become friends, and she very quickly barged right into my heart as my best friend. Brandi, or Momma B as the girls refer to her as, is very straight forward, brutally honest, and always funny. There isn't a day that goes by that she doesn't have me almost wetting my pants in laughter with something that she has said, and it's always the truth. The things you think to yourself about people, she says. And not in a gossipy, behind their back kind of way, she just tells you how it is, even me. And she doesn't hesitate to make fun of herself or laugh at her own flaws. And I love that about her.

The other thing I love about her is that she is always there for me! No matter what, when I need to vent, when I need to cry, when I need someone to quote the scripture and tell me that I'm doing wrong, when I need help or just someone to make me smile, she's there. It is so difficult in this world to find truly good people, people who put everyone else first and do things because it is the right thing to do and because they care, not because they are going to get something out of it in return. It's also very hard to find someone that you can trust everything to, and I am so lucky to have found that. I have told her things that the national enquirer would pay to know, and she has never told a soul. She loves my girls just like they are her own and has helped me out so many times with them.

I am so very lucky to have Brandi in my life and I thank God everyday that he brought us together when he did, when we both needed each other so much. I hope that everyone knows at least one person in their life like this.

To Momma B~ because I know you'll read this! Thank you for all you do for the girls and I. And thank you for being my best friend!

Missouri Contemporary Ballet

Momma B and I took our big girls (Kins, Karly Q, Roz and Syd) to see the Missouri Contemporary Ballet at Champ Auditorium last night. They performed their new show titled "Renewal." It was really beautiful and I encourage you to see a performance by the MCB if you ever get a chance. The three oldest girlies enjoyed the show very much and talked non stop about it on the way home. Karly enjoyed what she saw of it, as she fell asleep in my lap shortly after intermission. But this was only after she told on the people behind us for using their flash on their camera. She said to me in her under her breath you're gonna get busted voice, "Mom, they aren't supposed to take pictures." Since we couldn't take pictures of the ballet, I've included one of Karly sleeping through it.

http://www.missouricontemporaryballet.com/

Carol Brady is my hero

Last night I kept my best friend Brandi's girls while she was out of town. She too has three beautiful and amazing little girls, whom I love as much as my own. Her oldest two are the same ages as my oldest two and her youngest is almost 3. So, I had 2 8 year olds, 2 5 year olds a three year old and baby Jules. Whew! Last night went well, they all got along great, we had pizza, they did their homework, were bathed and in bed by 8:30. Mission Accomplished, pat on the back for Momma Kell. I'm feeling pretty good about this, thinking that wasn't so bad, even bragging to Momma B (Brandi) about how well I did.

Then this morning hit. Oh My, that's what I get for being boastful. It started well, I got up early and started getting ready and they all got up before 7 on their own, with no prodding from me. Clothes were picked out, breakfast was prepared, and then it all went downhill. It is very difficult to keep 5 girls motivated to get themselves ready when there are so many other fun things to do. I had to ask many times to get shoes on, to brush their hair, quit playing around and get ready. Now, they are not bad kids, they behave really well, they just get distracted easily, and I get stressed easily when I'm running behind. The poor babies probably think that the devil possessed me this morning with all the yelling and threatening to spank their little butts. Much to my surprise we made it out the door on time, only to look in my rear view mirror to see Roz (Brandi's oldest) sitting in the back seat, hair all a mess. I calmly ask, Roz, did you comb your hair this morning, uh, no, I forgot. And I think how do you forget to brush your hair when you have this crazy woman screaming at you through gritted teeth every 5 minutes, GIRLS, BRush your HAIR , put your SHOES on NOW! I pulled back up to the house, ran into the bathroom, grabbed a brush and tossed it to Roz in the backseat, luckily I didn't hit one of them in the head with it as it flew through the car. Off to school as she brushed her hair. Within a few moments, they were laughing and talking, so I'm hoping that I didn't scar them for life and praying for forgiveness for all the not nice words I used this morning.

I drop the oldest 4 at school. Take Jules to Miss Lois's, who tells me in engrish, Yessaday, I pway Pano, baby yayayayaya. And laugh all the way to Ellie's daycare. When I take Ellie (Brandi's baby) in, she kisses me and tells me I luv you Kewwi. Awww.... and that made it all better. I drive to work, laughing about my adventures from the morning and think to myself, I'm glad I'm not Carol Brady, 6 is too many for me.

You have to laugh

Let me preface this with, I did not write the following exchange, for those of you who don't know, it was taken from "The Office." If you have not seen "The Office", I highly recommend you check it out. The first time I watched part of an episode, I thought this is stupid, it's ridiculous, why would anyone ever watch this. But then I got hooked. The best way to describe it is to think of all of the people that you've ever worked with that irritated you, that were lazy, that you had to explain everything to. You know, the ones you go home at night and shake your head at wondering how these people even have a job. Put all those people in a company together and then film their everyday interactions, that's "The Office" and it's hilarious.

To preface this, Michael Scott is the boss or manager in this particular office, and he has jokingly told a gay coworker that he is being faggy.

Michael Scott: I call everybody faggy. Why would anyone find that offensive?
Toby: I think Oscar would like it if you just used "lame" or something.
Michael Scott: But that's what faggy means!

Michael Scott: You don't call retarded people retards. It's bad taste. You call your friends retards when they are acting retarded. And I consider Oscar a friend.

A friend reminded me of this quote last night, and I literally burst out in laughter, startling my sleeping daughter. I admit it is very politically incorrect and very offensive, but you have to laugh, I certainly did, and do every time I hear it.

Jammie Pants and Fuzzy Socks

Everyone has that one thing that always makes them feel good no matter what. For some people that's momma's comfort food, for some a favorite song or movie, for some a bubble bath, for others maybe a favorite season or place. My no fail feel good are jammie pants and fuzzy socks, worn together of course, and even better when fresh out of the dryer. Yesterday was one of those days for me where things were just bleh. There really wasn't anything wrong, it wasn't one of those days were everything goes wrong, in fact nothing terribly wrong had happened, it was just a cold late fall day, in which I was informed I have to work overtime on Saturday, I rush to pick up my girlies, two of the three with runny noses and off to church where Karly Q refused to behave. I get home to a house that's messy, laundry that needs to be done and I know the next few nights are going to be just as hectic.

I finally got all the girls to bed, and I sat down to read my bible, the verses from the sermon that I missed tonight trying to get Karly to sit still. Then I put on my jammie pants, well actually ones I seem to have inherited, my fuzzy socks and climbed into bed. Yes, I slept in my socks, something I normally don't do, but it felt good. This morning I woke earlier than usual and it was a new day. I straightened up a little, baked a pie for work and turned around to the most wonderful surprise, Karly Q, also up earlier than usual, ready for a big hug.

No Jumping On The Bed

I love it when babies learn to stand up, and they pull themselves up in the morning, hanging on to the rail of their crib, bouncing up and down, grinning ear to ear, so proud of themselves. Juliana has reached that stage, and every morning it brings a smile to my face and a warmy fuzzy to my heart when I walk in to get her out of her crib.

Karly loves to play with Juliana, especially in the mornings. As soon as she wakes up, she makes a beeline for Juliana's crib. This morning, Karly scolded Jules and said "JuliANA (put the emphasis on ANA), NO jumping on the BED!"

As you read that, you have to imagine the 5 year old, saying under her breath with emphasis, NO jumping on the BED, as in, Juliana, you are going to get in trouble if mom sees you.

Juliana got a sucker!

This past saturday Kinsley announced that we were going to have a family party that evening. She devoted her entire day to preparing for the party. I think she gets that from me. She prepared the menu (halloween candy, popcorn and bottled water), came up with games for us to play and decorated the living room. I had to laugh at some of things she came up with, including "tell your deepest darkest secret" to which hers was that she still has a crush on a boy that she used to go to preschool with.

The highlight of the evening, other than just spending time with all three girls was Juliana's first sucker. Now, my friend Brandi can attest to the fact the poor baby never gets anything good. After having one baby who suffered miserably from acid reflux, I tend to limit her diet to things I know won't upset her tummy. I nearly fainted when Brandi gave her tiny taste of icing at Kinsley's birthday party. So this was a stretch, but I couldn't help it. She was sitting at Kinsley's party table with us munching on her cheerios while the rest of us chowed down on junk. So... momma caved and gave Juliana a cherry dum dum sucker. She LOVED it! In fact, she got mad when I took it away after only a few licks. Kinsley kept stealing it from my plate and giving it to Jules, and she would scream every time I took it away.

Growing Girls

For those of you who don't know, Kinsley got saved two weeks ago last night, and this past Sunday, she was Baptized. I got the pleasure of standing at the edge of the baptistry to watch and wait, towel in hand as she emerged. I was the first face she saw as she arose from the water. I have never seen my daughter look so beautiful, so peaceful and so happy. That moment is one that I will forever hold locked in my heart and my mind. Knowing that she made this decision completely on her own, without any push from me, makes it even more special. I have taken her to church regularly and I remind her and sit with her as she says her prayers, but her decision to be Saved is one that she came to without my pushing or prodding. Which for those of you who know me, know was very difficult for me. I am the mother that is overly involved with her children's lives and activities, the one that the teacher's hate to meet with at parent teacher conferences, so for me to sit back and not push and completely let God take control of the situation was a challenge for me.


I have been very proud of Karly and her Christian growth as well. Some people might question that as they see me quickly sweep her out of the church and into the training room during the sermon for a stern discussion or spanking because she can't behave. But there are many moments that no one sees but me, that tell me that God is in Karly's heart, whether she acknowledges that or not. It is evident when she gets excited about going to church and on Wednesdays wants to go to church first and school second instead of vice versa. It was evident about 2 weeks ago when Juliana was fussing in her crib and Karly, bless her heart, was trying everything she could do to make her sister happy. I suggested that Karly sing to her, to which Karly replied she didn't know any songs. I asked her "Karly do you know 'Jesus Loves Me'" and she exclaimed, "Mom, Jesus loves EVERYBODY". So again, I am challenged not to push or prod my daughter, but rather to trust in the LORD and let Karly do this on her own.